Brazilian Theologians Ivone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer Offer Liberating View of Mary of Nazareth Who Stands on the Margins with Oppressed

Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Antonio Cathedral

Elizabeth Johnson  cites Brazilian Theologians Ivone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer's  whose interpretation of the Marian doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption provide a "liberating impulse and can be made to work as allies in the struggle for life.   For the Immaculata venerated on our altars is the poor Mary of Nazareth, insignificant in the social structure of her time. This Mother of the People bears within herself the confirmation of God's preference for the humblest, the littlest, the most oppressed. The so-called Marian privilege is really the privilege of the poor. Similarly, believing in Mary's Assumption means proclaiming that the woman who gave birth in a stable among animals, who shared a life of poverty, who stood at the foot of the cross as the mother of the condemned has been exalted. The Assumption is the glorious culmination of the mystery of God's preference for what is poor, small, and unprotected in this world. It sparks hope in the poor and those who stand in solidarity with them 'that they will share in the final victory of the incarnate God.' To understand these doctrines aright, we cannot forget that they talk of God exalting a woman who lived in poverty and anonymity. As Mary sang in the Magnificat, they reveal the ways of God whose light shines on what is regarded as insignificant and marginal." Ivone Gebera and  Maria Clara Bingemer,  Mary Mother of God, Mother of the Poor, 113,120-1cited in Elizabeth Johnson, Truly Our Sister, p. 149

As we address issues of women's empowerment in the church and world including women priests, we can take heart that Mary of Nazareth is our beloved sister and companion on the journey toward justice rising up from the margins. Yes, women are the face of God. Our bodies are holy and we are called to stand around the altar with our brothers and sisters and celebrate God's extravagant love for all at the Banquet Table. The hierarchy cannot continue to discriminate against women and blame God for it because God is on the side of the marginalized and oppressed in our world and church. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

Pastor Judy Beaumont , ARCWP, presides at Easter liturgy with youth in Good Shepherd Community, Fort Myers, Florida